gibson



' 2 Sheets-fSh'eet 1.

W. GIBSON-..- BEBR GOOLER (No Model.)

No. 516,196.` 'Patented Mar, 13

(NOMOdel.)

Patented Mar ms NAnuNAL LnHaaRAPMlNu CQMFANY.

wAsmNn'roN, D. 4:.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WYATT GIBSON, OF DODD, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES F. SADLER, OF SAME PLACE.

BEER-COOLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,196, dated March 13, 1894. Application tiled March 14, 1893. Serial No. 465,896. (No model.)

T0 wZZ whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, WYATT GIBSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dodd, in the county of Fannin and State of Texas, have lnvented a new and useful Beer-Cooler, of whlchthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in beer-coolers, and to that particular class thereof employed in bar-rooms, hotels, and other places wherein it is desired to dispense the beer in small quantities.

The objects of my invention are to produce a cooler of cheap and simple construction and ornamental external appearance adapted to thoroughly cool the beer by a consumption of a minimum amount of ice; to so construct the cooler as to adapt the same to serve as a refrlgerator for the storing and cooling of bottled goods such as beer, ale, porter, dac., and furthermore to arrange the cooler in such manner as to permit of the introduction and removal of beer-kegs without the necessity of llftmg the same from the iioor.

Various other objects and advantages of Inylnvention will appear in the following descrlptlon and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawingsz-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a beer-cooler constructed 1n accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View. Fig. 4c is a transverse sectional view, the upper ice-tray being removed. Fig. 5 is a detail in perspective of said ice-tray.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l In practicing my invention I employ a caslng or cooler-body 1, preferably cylindrical, and the same consists of an inner and an outer shell, the two being joined together andspaced apart. The intermediate space is in the present instance left unfilled, thereby forming a dead-air space, but if desired it may be filled with any heat non-conducting substance, as is usual. The casing or refrigerator-body is provided with a suitable base or floor 2 constructed in any suitable manner, and has its upper end provided with a conical ring or iiange 3 upon which is seated a removable conical cover 4 having a surrounding iiange adapted to fit over the flange 3, and thus effect a tight joint therewith. The exterior of the refrigerator or cooler is provided with suitable hand-holds 5, by which the same may be readily handled.

Secured within the cooler-body about midway the same is a semicircular pan 6, the y is therefore capable of bein g drained through the medium of said cock or faucet 11. A door-opening 12 is formed in the casing at one side of and above the cock 1l and about on a level with the upper edge of the surrounding wall of the ice-pan 6, and to one side of the opening there is hinged an ordinary door 13 that may be secured in position by any suitable locking device, as for instance, a turnbutton 14.

15 designates a semicircular supplemental ice-tray, the same having a vertical wall 16 that partially surrounds the same, said wall being broken away at one side of the transverse center of the tray thereby forming a moisture exit 17. The tray 15 is of such proportions as to adapt it to rest upon the curved rib or rest 8 or upon the ice-pan 6 or partially upon both, or in other Words, the said tray 15, is movable or swiveled in position and capable of being swung toward or away from the door-opening 12 which is designed to give access tothe tray as Well as to the ice-pan 6. The tray 15 is designed to receive ice and also serve as a support for the bottled liquids mentioned, and at the same time to shed its water or moisture into the main ice-pan 6.

The back of the cooler is provided with a door-opening'lS which is on a level with the floor or bottom thereof, and at one side of said opening there is hinged a door 19 which may be secured closed by any suitable securing device, as for instance, a turn-button `20. Coiled in the main ice-pan 6 is a suitable IOO length of tubing 21, which is preferably formed of rubber. The upper end of the tube is secured to the inner end of a beer-faucet or cock 22 while the lower end or remaining terminal extends down into the cooler to a point below the main ice-pan 6 where it is provided with a coupling 23.

24 designates a keg of beeror it may be any other liquid which is located in the lower part of the cooler or below the ice-pan 6, and said keg has its upper end or head tapped and inserted therein a metal-tube 26, which eX- tends down to the bottom of the keg and is provided near its lower end with a series of perforations 25. To the upper end of this tube is coupled by means of the coupling 23 the lower end of the rubber tube 21, so that as will be obvious a ready connection and disconnection may be made between the tube 2l and the metal tube within the keg.

To the front of the cooler immediately above the dispensing-faucet 22, or at any other suitable point, there is located an ordinary air-pump 27, and the same is operated by the usual lever 28. To the inner end of this pump a pipe 29 is connected, the lower end of the pipe being coupled to a rubber tube 30 which is let into the upper end or head of the keg.

This completes the construction of the cooler whose operation will be readily apparent. Crushed ice is introduced into the icepan 6 and also upon the tray l5 if desired, the tray 15 being swung to one side to permit of access to the pan 6 and afterward returned to its position so as to give access to itself for a supply of ice and the bottled liqnids that it may be desired to cool. The gas of the beer is under ordinary circumstances sufficient to force the same through the perforations in the metal tube up through the rubber pipe and its coils to the dispensing faucet 22, but in case the gas is insufficient for this purpose the pump is employed to force the beer. It will be seen that the coils of pipe within the pan 6 will be maintained at a low temperature, and hence the beer or other liquid dispensed therethrough will be likewise reduced in temperature, and that such is secured by a small quantity of ice to which a large surface of piping is exposed. The temperature in the lower end of the cooler will be sufficient to maintain the beer at a proper degree, and that in the upper part will be sufficient to cool the bottled liquids which may be placed within the cooler, access to which may be readily had through the door 8. It will be observed that the entire cooler is very convenient and at the same time cheaply constructed and that the ice is utilized to the fullest extent even after it is melted, the water being employed for cooling the pipes containing the beer. It will also be observed that the kegs will not have to be handled or lifted but simply pushed into the opening in the lower end of the cooler, the couplings made fast between the air and beer-pipes and the air and beer-tubes, and the door closed and fastened, the whole being accomplished without disturbing the coil of pipe.

Various changes may be made in the details of my invention without departing from the spirit of the same or sacrificing any of its advantages, and l therefore consider such changes to be within the scope of my invention and within the skill of the mechanic.

Having described my invention, what l l. The combination with a cylindrical beercooler casing provided with a door-opening in its side and with ahinged door, of a substantially semicircular shaped ice-pan secured in the casing below the door and having a surrounding wall, a movable ice-tray mounted upon said wall, a rest forming a continuation of the wall and adapted to support the tray, said tray being provided with a liquid escapeopening leading to the pan, a coil of pipe located in the pan and having one end depending below the same, a dispensing-faucet located in the upper end of the casing and secured to the remaining end of the coil, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the cylindrical cooler having the upper and lower door-openings provided with doors, the intermediate semicircular ice-pan having a surrounding vertical wall whose upper edge is continued, of a curved rest, a semicircular tray movably mounted on the rest and pan and having a vertical wall partially surrounding the same and forming a discharge-opening, the dispensing-faucet and pump extending through the casing, the coiled pipe seated in the pan and having one end connected to the inner end of the faucet, a dispensing-tube having perforations secured to the lower end of the pipe, an air-tube adjacent to the dispensing tube, and an air-pipe leading from the pump to the tube, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WYATT GIBSON.

Witnesses: i

D. MOGEE, G. N. LATTA. 

